


like emeralds

by DawnandStars



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics)
Genre: Accidental Paralysis, Age Difference, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Blood and Injury, F/M, Flirting, Prophetic Dreams, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnandStars/pseuds/DawnandStars
Summary: Barbara Gordon has never been on Ra's al Ghul's radar. . . Until now, of course.
Relationships: Ra's al Ghul/Barbara Gordon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	like emeralds

**Author's Note:**

> I've fallen into the hole that is Ra'sBabs and no, I'm not leaving it. This was originally written with Ra'sBat Week in mind, back when prompts were being voted on (with this prompt being 'Your eyes are ever so green') but it ended up NOT being one of the chosen prompts for the event. . .
> 
> So here I am, posting it now. Because I fucking can :D

_Green, glowing water laps at her form as she surfaces from beneath its gentle waves. There's a figure in an elaborate emerald green robe with gold trimmings._

_The colors of the al Ghul house._

_She steps out of the pool, approaching the figure. In the distance, she could hear a sound, like a heart beating on a monitor. The closer she got to the figure, the louder it became._

_And yet when she began to walk past them. . . The sound began to fade out again. Doubling back proved that the sound grew in volume so long as she was near the figure._

_What could this mean?_

***

Her body is _screaming_ at her to stop, to just take her loss and limp away to fight another day. There is a cut above her brow, she can taste copper on her tongue from how hard she had to bite down upon her lip to keep herself from crying out.

Yet she _refused_ to even fall to her knee before the League's assassins, getting up time and time again to show them that she wouldn't be bested as easily as their master thought.

Her cowl had been torn apart and discarded already, flaming red hair in disarray and green eyes burning with determination and stubbornness. Barbara was breathing heavily, yet refused to favor her left side, where most of the damage had been done, even as she met the toxic, glowing stare of Ra's al Ghul.

She knew he was watching her from the shadows, could feel his gaze upon her even as she fought his assassins. And now she had located him, his form barely hidden now, his eyes giving him away.

Green held green, and suddenly the Demon's Head was standing before her, clearly dressed for battle instead of grandstanding. There was still a touch of flair to his clothes though, dark overall with green and gold accents.

"Impressive. Why has the Detective never once brought you forward to me?" Ra's said, his voice full of authority and curiosity. His brow lifted when Barbara began to laugh, his gaze never once leaving her as she forced herself to stand up straight.

"For years," she began, smiling at him now, "someone has been taking your funds. Redirecting your assassins. Diverting your plans. Blacking out your compounds."

He narrowed his eyes now, and Barbara dared to step closer to him. She wasn't going to let his height intimidate her. Sure, she knew Ra's was more than a foot taller than she was, but still! She _refused_ to be seen as lesser than him, refused to be viewed as insignificant.

"You've tried to track them down for as long as they've been thwarting you. You thought it was Bruce." She had no worries saying the name of the Bat himself, knowing that Ra's knew his identity already. "And all you have is a name. . . _Oracle._ "

Realization dawned in those eerie green eyes, and Barbara felt a bit of pride shooting through her.

"To think that someone could be so exceptional," Ra's breathed, eyeing Barbara now, almost like he was seeing her for the first time. "To do all of that and stay hidden from me the entire time. To whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking to?"

Before she could speak and call herself Oracle or even Batgirl, Ra's held up his hand, effectively silencing her.

"I wish to know _your_ name. Not the name of the hacker who has foiled me time and again, nor the name the Detective uses for you. Who is this brilliant woman before me?"

She narrowed her eyes now, but she knew better than to lie to an immortal. Barbara took a steadying breath, appearing relaxed despite keeping her guard up.

"Barbara Gordon."

"Miss Gordon," he said, and Barbara felt a delightful shiver run down her spine, hearing him say her name. "Would you do me the honor of a duel?"

 _That_ threw her for a loop, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, Barbara knew she would either be walking out of her with injuries that would require a hospital (or at least a trip to see Alfred) or end with her not walking out of here at all.

Of course Ra's would ask her to fight him while she was still injured and could barely catch her breath. However, she had dealt with worse odds before.

"It would be my pleasure," Barbara replied.

She expected him to fall into a fighting stance the moment she agreed to fight him. Instead, he turned to the side (refusing to expose his back to her, clearly), one of his League assassins approaching him with a scimitar in hand. Barbara glanced to her side at the same time, seeing another assassin with a matching scimitar.

She took the blade in hand, already noticing that gave Ra's a bigger advantage than she realized. Not only was she injured from facing his assassins, but she had also never been trained to use a sword.

Guns, yes. Escrima sticks and bo staves, yes. Hell, give her a tonfa, bladed or otherwise, and she could kick ass with those.

But a _sword?_ She was clueless.

"If you would prefer, Miss Gordon, we can change up the weapons. But this will give me an idea on how you are in combat better than our fists could," Ra's said.

Barbara looked to him, arching a brow as she took in his stance. His guard was up despite looking relaxed, and he definitely knew how to hold the scimitar. Of course he would, he was centuries old and had learned various forms of combat.

She mirrored him, already calculating how this battle would have to go for a time. If she could keep up a defense while memorizing his movements, then perhaps she could beat him.

The assassins who brought the scimitars out to them soon left, leaving just Barbara and Ra's in the arena. If she dared to look away, she could see where her blood had been spilled in the earlier fight before Ra's stepped in.

The moment she turned her eyes back again, Ra’s was suddenly before her, giving her only a split second to react. She lifted her weapon, just narrowly deflecting his attack, the metal ringing out against one another as she pushed herself back from him.

Immediately she was on the defensive, just like she suspected, blocking blows from Ra’s while watching him. The way he moved his feet, the way his body spun to put more force into his attacks. Barbara could even see a smirk on the man’s face, one corner of his mouth quirking upward.

He left his right side open, and that’s when Barbara went on the offensive, lunging forwards. Ra’s still managed to dodge, able to read her moves easily. But then she spun around, swinging the scimitar downwards, and the immortal had just enough time to bring his blade up and deflect.

“Quite the quick learner, aren’t you, Miss Gordon?” he said, shoving her back before coming at her. He was clearly aiming to do more than a slash with his blade, Barbara could see the way he shifted his weight.

Despite the way her body _screamed_ for her to stop, Barbara jumped above him, twisting in the air to land behind him, watching as Ra’s attempted to make a sweeping kick where her body used to be.

“More than just a quick learner, _sir,_ ” she said, half sounding like she was mocking him, though her tone somehow held something of a flirtatious edge. She reached up to finally unclip her cape from her shoulders, letting the torn material drop to the ground. “I think you’ll find that I’m full of surprises.”

Now it was Ra’s’ turn to be on the defensive, Barbara coming at him and mirroring his movements _perfectly._ The blessing that was her eidetic memory, of course. However, there was one flaw in her otherwise perfectly executed plan.

She was growing cocky, something that one should never do when facing an immortal with centuries of experience. Especially when one was against an immortal that _also_ paid close attention to how his opponent moved. . . And saw how said opponent was trying to prevent the immortal from reaching her back.

Barbara lunged towards him, but that was enough of an opening for Ra’s to dodge and get behind her. One moment, Barbara was on her feet, about to spin on her heel and deflect Ra’s scimitar. The next found her crumbling to the ground, blood pooling beneath her as she realized that Ra’s had cut into her implant.

All because she had been guarding her back. He didn’t even _know_ that she was paralyzed, and yet he could tell from just _context clues_ that something about her back was a weak point.

She let out a sound similar to a growl, using her upper body strength to force herself to roll over, propping herself up on her arms. Barbara sucked in a breath when Ra’s placed the edge of his scimitar beneath her chin, tilting her head up so she could meet his gaze. She glared at him, not caring how beaten she looked at that moment.

“Your eyes are ever so green,” Ra’s suddenly said, sinking to his knees so he was nearly at proper eye level with Barbara. His hand replaced his blade, his touch surprisingly more gentle than Barbara had thought it would be. This was a hand that had undoubtedly slaughtered thousands, millions even! And here he was, cradling her chin like she was a precious jewel.

“They’re. . . Like emeralds,” he continued, his gaze still locked onto her own. “Miss Gordon, would you do me the absolute pleasure of joining me for dinner tonight? I can see to it that you get patched up and have the utmost care while in my compound.”

“Only if you’re prepared to give up a wheelchair,” she said, chuckling. “You cut into my implant, Ra’s. Anyone else would take this opportunity to strike me down for good while I can’t walk.”

Ra’s was silent, and for the briefest of moments, Barbara was worried that she had just signed her death certificate. She was not expecting him to toss his weapon aside and suddenly scoop her up, carrying her bridal style out of the arena.

“I’ll ensure you get a replacement for the implant, Miss Gordon. I’m assuming you’ll still accept my offer for dinner?”

Barbara found herself chuckling again, running a hand through her hair. She could hear her heart beating away in her chest and, if she so desired, would be able to hear Ra’s heartbeat potentially matching her own if she decided to lay her head upon his chest.

She was this close to figuring out what her dream meant. Dinner with an immortal could only help her further.

“I’d love to, Ra’s. And, please. . . Call me Barbara.”


End file.
